Substrate processing device

ABSTRACT

A substrate processing device includes: a chamber; a substrate processing mechanism that has a holding member, and discharges a processing fluid onto a substrate held by the holding member; a joint pipe that has a lower opening provided below the holding member, and an upper opening provided above the holding member, and is disposed such that at least part of the joint pipe from the lower opening to the upper opening passes through the outside of the chamber; and an air flow generator that is provided in the joint pipe. The air flow generator circulates an atmosphere in the chamber by discharging the atmosphere in the chamber from the lower opening to the joint pipe to allow the atmosphere to pass through the joint pipe, thereby introducing the atmosphere again into the chamber via the upper opening so that a downflow of the atmosphere occurs in the chamber.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present patent application is continuation of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/312,341, filed Dec. 21, 2018, by Nobuaki OKITAand Joichi NISHIMURA, entitled “SUBSTRATE PROCESSING DEVICE”, which is a35 U.S.C. §§ 371 national phase conversion of PCT/JP2017/031750, filedSep. 4, 2017, which claims priority to Japanese Patent Application Nos.2016-178383 and 2017-158408, filed Sep. 13, 2016 and Aug. 21, 2017,respectively, the contents of which are incorporated herein byreference. The PCT International Application was published in theJapanese language. The entire contents of each of these patentapplications are incorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a substrate processing device thatprocesses a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystaldisplay apparatus, a glass substrate for a plasma display, a substratefor an optical disk, a substrate for a magnetic disk, a substrate for amagneto-optical disk, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate fora solar cell, or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as a“substrate”).

BACKGROUND ART

As such a substrate processing device, for example, a substrateprocessing device 500 illustrated in FIG. 3 is adopted. This deviceincludes four chambers (housings) 1210 stacked in a top-bottomdirection. In each chamber 1210, a holding member (not illustrated) forholding a substrate (not illustrated) in a horizontal state, and a cup310 surrounding the holding member are provided. This device processes asubstrate by discharging a processing liquid from, for example, a nozzle(not illustrated) onto the substrate held by the holding member. Thedevice includes an introduction pipe 670 connected to an atmospheric airsupply source (not illustrated) such as a clean room.

A fan 820 is provided in the introduction pipe 670, and when the fan 820is operated, atmospheric air is introduced from the atmospheric airsupply source to the introduction pipe 670. The introduction pipe 670includes four branch pipes 680 corresponding to the respective chambers1210. Each branch pipe 680 is disposed so as to extend to the inside ofthe corresponding chamber 1210. An ultra low penetration air (ULPA)filter 710 disposed above each cup 310 is mounted to the front end ofeach branch pipe 680. The atmospheric air introduced into theintroduction pipe is cleaned by the filter 710, becomes a downflow D100,and flows toward the cup 310. In the cup 310, an atmosphere includingmists of the processing liquid discharged onto the substrate is formed.

A collection tank 620 for recovering the discharged atmosphere isprovided below the four chambers. Each branch pipe 610 of a dischargepipe 600 for discharging the atmosphere in the cup 310 is extended fromthe collection tank 620 to a lower side of the cup 310 of each chamber1210. The branch pipe 610 of the discharge pipe 600 has an opening onthe lower side of the cup 310. The atmosphere in the cup 310 isintroduced from the opening into the branch pipe 610 of the dischargepipe 600, passes through the branch pipe 610, and reaches the collectiontank 620. A pipe 530 for exhaust equipment that causes exhaust equipment910 of a factory to communicate with the collection tank 620 isconnected to the collection tank 620. The atmosphere collected in thecollection tank 620 passes through the pipe 530 for the exhaustequipment and is discharged by the exhaust equipment 910 of the factory.

Normally, a plurality of processing devices is connected to the exhaustequipment 910 of the factory, and the exhaust amount of the exhaustequipment 910 is allocated among the plurality of processing devices. Ina case where the exhaust amount of the exhaust equipment 910 allocatedto the above substrate processing device 500 is insufficient comparedwith the required exhaust amount of the substrate processing device 500,the substrate processing device 500 cannot sufficiently discharge theatmosphere in the cup 310. Therefore, if substrate processing isperformed, quality of processing will be degraded. As the countermeasuretherefore, Patent Document 1 discloses a substrate processing deviceintended to suppress shortage of the exhaust amount of exhaust equipmentallocated to the substrate processing device.

The substrate processing device according to Patent Document 1 includesa substrate holding part that holds a substrate in a horizontal stateand is rotatable, a cup that surrounds the periphery of the substrateholding part, an exhaust pipe path that guides an atmosphere inside thecup to exhaust equipment of a factory, and an exhaust assist deviceprovided in the middle of the exhaust pipe path. The exhaust assistdevice includes a branch pipe path that branches off from the exhaustpipe path, and a confluent pipe path that is joined to the exhaust pipepath on the downstream side of the flow of the atmosphere flowingthrough the exhaust pipe path. Between the branch pipe path and theconfluent pipe path, a storage part for causing the branch pipe path tocommunicate with the confluent pipe path is provided. On a branch pipepath side of the storage part, an intake device such as a fan isprovided. When the intake device operates, part of the atmosphereflowing through the exhaust pipe path is introduced into the branch pipepath and is sent to the storage part. The storage part is configured ofa membrane member, and when the atmosphere is sent, the storage partinflates and stores the atmosphere. When the intake device stops, thestorage part contracts and discharges the stored atmosphere to theconfluent pipe. As a result, discharge capacity of the substrateprocessing device can be increased without extending the exhaustequipment of the factory.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS Patent Documents

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-137662(1998)

SUMMARY Problem to be Solved by the Invention

However, in the substrate processing device according to Patent Document1, there is a limit in the size to which the storage part can beinflated. Therefore, there is a problem that in a case where theshortage amount of the exhaust amount allocated by the exhaust equipmentcompared with the required exhaust amount of the substrate processingdevice exceeds the maximum storage amount of the storage part, theatmosphere cannot be sufficiently discharged.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem,and an objective of the present invention to provide a technique ofsufficiently discharging an atmosphere in a chamber even in a case wherethe exhaust amount allocated by external exhaust equipment to asubstrate processing device is quite insufficient compared with therequired exhaust amount of the substrate processing device.

Means to Solve the Problem

In order to solve the above problem, a substrate processing deviceaccording to a first aspect includes: a chamber; a substrate processingmechanism that has a holding member capable of holding a substrate in asubstantially horizontal state, is housed in the chamber, and dischargesa processing fluid onto a substrate held by the holding member toprocess the substrate; a joint pipe that has a lower opening providedbelow the holding member and facing the inside of the chamber, and anupper opening provided above the holding member and facing the inside ofthe chamber, and is disposed such that at least part of the joint pipefrom the lower opening to the upper opening passes through the outsideof the chamber; and an air flow generator that is provided in the jointpipe. The air flow generator circulates an atmosphere containing aspecific gas in the chamber by discharging the atmosphere in the chamberfrom the lower opening to the joint pipe to allow the atmosphere to passthrough the joint pipe, thereby introducing the atmosphere again intothe chamber via the upper opening so that a downflow of the atmosphereoccurs in the chamber.

A substrate processing device according to a second aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the first aspect furtherincluding a filter that is provided in the joint pipe and is capable ofremoving a specific component included in the processing fluid from theatmosphere discharged from the chamber into the joint pipe.

A substrate processing device according to a third aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the second aspect, in which thefilter is provided on an upstream side of a flow of the atmospherecirculated by the air flow generator with respect to the air flowgenerator.

A substrate processing device according to a fourth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the third aspect, in which theprocessing fluid contains a specific liquid, the joint pipe includes avertical pipe extending in a top-bottom direction, the vertical pipe isdisposed such that the flow of the atmosphere circulated by the air flowgenerator is capable of rising inside the vertical pipe and at leastpart of the vertical pipe is located on the upstream side of the flow ofthe atmosphere with respect to the air flow generator, and the filter isprovided in the at least part of the vertical pipe and is capable ofremoving the liquid in a form of mist from the atmosphere.

A substrate processing device according to a fifth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the fourth aspect, in which thejoint pipe includes a tank provided at a lower end in a verticaldirection, the tank is provided so as to be capable of receiving theliquid mixed with the atmosphere and discharged from the chamber to thejoint pipe, and the vertical pipe extends upward from the tank such thatan internal space of the vertical pipe and an internal space of the tankcommunicate with each other.

A substrate processing device according to a sixth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the fifth aspect, in which thefilter is provided in a section of the vertical pipe, closer to the tankthan to the air flow generator.

A substrate processing device according to a seventh aspect is thesubstrate processing device according the first aspect furtherincluding: an introduction pipe that causes a supply source of thespecific gas and the joint pipe to communicate with each other so as tobe capable of introducing the gas into the joint pipe; and a regulatingvalve that is capable of regulating a flow rate of the gas flowingthrough the introduction pipe.

A substrate processing device according to an eighth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the seventh aspect furtherincluding a filter that is provided in the joint pipe and is capable ofremoving a specific component contained in the processing fluid from theatmosphere discharged from the chamber into the joint pipe, in which thefilter is provided on the upstream side of the flow of the atmospherecirculated by the air flow generator with respect to the air flowgenerator, and the introduction pipe is connected to a section of thejoint pipe, on a downstream side of the flow of the atmosphere withrespect to the filter.

A substrate processing device according to a ninth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the first aspect furtherincluding a pipe for exhaust equipment that branches off from the jointpipe to cause the joint pipe to communicate with external exhaustequipment, and guides the atmosphere discharged to the joint pipe to theexhaust equipment, and further including an on-off valve mechanism thatis capable of bringing one of a return pipe and the pipe for exhaustequipment into an open state and bringing the other into a closed statewhen the return pipe is defined by a section of the joint pipe rangingfrom a downstream side of a flow of the atmosphere circulated by the airflow generator with respect to the pipe for exhaust equipment to theupper opening.

A substrate processing device according to a tenth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the ninth aspect furtherincluding a controller that performs opening and closing control of theon-off valve mechanism so that one of the return pipe and the pipe forexhaust equipment is in the open state and the other is in the closedstate, in which the opening and closing control is control for bringingthe return pipe into the open state and the pipe for exhaust equipmentinto the closed state when a required exhaust amount of the substrateprocessing device exceeds an exhaust amount allocated to the substrateprocessing device out of an exhaust amount of the exhaust equipment andfor bringing the return pipe into the closed state and the pipe forexhaust equipment into the open state when the required exhaust amountdoes not exceed the exhaust amount allocated.

A substrate processing device according to an eleventh aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the tenth aspect, in which thecontroller performs the opening and closing control according to controlinformation acquired in advance, and the control information includesinformation in which a process of substrate processing that thesubstrate processing device is capable of executing and an opening andclosing state of the on-off valve mechanism are correlated with eachother so that the opening and closing control can be performed.

A substrate processing device according to a twelfth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the tenth aspect, in which thecontroller performs the opening and closing control according to controlinformation acquired in advance, and the control information includes anindex value corresponding to an exhaust amount allocated to thesubstrate processing device by the exhaust equipment and an index valuecorresponding to the required exhaust amount of the substrate processingdevice.

A substrate processing device according to a thirteenth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the ninth aspect, in which theprocessing fluid contains a specific liquid, the joint pipe includes atank provided at a lower end of the joint pipe in a vertical direction,the tank is provided so as to be capable of receiving the liquid mixedwith the atmosphere and discharged from the chamber into the joint pipe,the pipe for exhaust equipment and the return pipe are connected to thetank, the return pipe includes a vertical pipe extending upward from thetank, and the vertical pipe is provided so that a flow of the atmospherecirculated by the air flow generator is capable of rising inside thevertical pipe and at least part of the vertical pipe is located on anupstream side of the flow of the atmosphere with respect to the air flowgenerator, the substrate processing device further including a filterthat is provided in the at least part of the vertical pipe and iscapable of removing the liquid in a form of mist from the atmosphere, inwhich the on-off valve mechanism includes a first on-off valve that isprovided at a section of the vertical pipe, on an upstream side of theflow of the atmosphere circulated by the air flow generator with respectto the filter and is capable of opening and closing the vertical pipe,and a second on-off valve capable of opening and closing the pipe forexhaust equipment.

A substrate processing device according to a fourteenth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according the thirteenth aspect furtherincluding: an introduction pipe that causes a supply source of thespecific gas and the vertical pipe to communicate with each other so asto be capable of introducing the gas into the vertical pipe; and aregulating valve that is capable of regulating a flow rate of thespecific gas flowing through the introduction pipe, in which theintroduction pipe is connected to a section of the joint pipe, on adownstream side of the flow of the atmosphere circulated by the air flowgenerator with respect to the filter.

A substrate processing device according to a fifteenth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the first aspect, in which thesubstrate processing mechanism discharges the processing fluid onto thesubstrate to perform one of cleaning processing and rinsing processingof the substrate.

A substrate processing device according to a sixteenth aspect is thesubstrate processing device according to the fifteenth aspect, in whichthe substrate processing mechanism discharges one of pure water andfunctional water as the processing fluid.

Effects of the Invention

According to the invention according to the first aspect, the joint pipeincludes the lower opening and the upper opening each of which faces theinside of the chamber, and is disposed such that at least part thereoffrom the lower opening to the upper opening passes through the outsideof the chamber. The air flow generator provided in the joint pipecirculates the atmosphere containing the specific gas in the chamber bydischarging the atmosphere in the chamber from the lower opening to thejoint pipe to allow the atmosphere to pass through the joint pipe,thereby introducing the atmosphere again into the chamber via the upperopening so that a downflow of the atmosphere occurs in the chamber.Thus, the substrate processing device can discharge the atmosphere inthe chamber to the outside of the chamber even if the substrateprocessing device is not connected to the external exhaust equipment.Therefore, the substrate processing device can sufficiently dischargethe atmosphere in the chamber even in a case where the exhaust amountallocated by the external exhaust equipment is quite insufficientcompared with the required exhaust amount.

According to the invention according to the second aspect, the substrateprocessing device further includes the filter provided in the joint pipeand capable of removing the specific component contained in theprocessing fluid from the atmosphere discharged from the chamber intothe joint pipe. Therefore, the atmosphere discharged from the chamber tothe joint pipe is purified by the filter and is then circulated into thechamber again. As a result, the quality of substrate processing can beimproved.

According to the invention according to the third aspect, the filter isprovided on the upstream side of the flow of the atmosphere circulatedby the air flow generator with respect to the air flow generator.Therefore, since the atmosphere purified by the filter is sent to theair flow generator, deterioration of the air flow generator due to thecomponent of the processing fluid mixed in the atmosphere can besuppressed.

According to the invention according to the fourth aspect, theprocessing fluid contains the specific liquid, and the filter is capableof removing the liquid in the form of mist from the atmosphere and isprovided in a section of the vertical pipe included in the joint pipe,on the upstream side of the flow of the atmosphere with respect to theair flow generator. Therefore, the liquid in the form of mist in theatmosphere separated by the filter easily drips downward along thevertical pipe.

According to the invention according to the fifth aspect, since the tankis provided at the lower end in the vertical direction of the jointpipe, drops (large droplets) of the specific liquid discharged to thejoint pipe together with the atmosphere in the chamber flow into thetank along an inner wall of the joint pipe and are received by the tank.The liquid in the form of mist mixed with the atmosphere and isdischarged to the joint pipe flows from the tank to the vertical pipetogether with the atmosphere, but the liquid is removed by the filter.Therefore, on the downstream side of the flow of the atmosphere withrespect to the filter, the atmosphere from which both the liquid in theform of drops and the liquid in the form of mist are removed flows.Therefore, deterioration of the air flow generator due to the componentof the processing fluid is efficiently suppressed.

According to the invention according to the sixth aspect, the filter isprovided in a section of the vertical pipe, closer to the tank than tothe air flow generator. When the liquid in the form of mist in theprocessing fluid is separated from the atmosphere by the filter andbecomes drops, and the drops drip down along the inner peripheralsurface of the vertical pipe, if many drops adhere to the innerperipheral surface, resistance that the atmosphere flowing through thevertical pipe receives increases. However, if the filter is closer tothe tank than to the air flow generator in the vertical pipe, the rangewhere drops adhere can be made smaller, so that the flow of theatmosphere in the vertical pipe becomes smooth.

According to the invention according to the seventh aspect, thesubstrate processing device further includes: the introduction pipe thatcauses the supply source of the specific gas contained in the atmospherein the chamber and the joint pipe to communicate with each other so asto be capable of introducing the gas into the joint pipe; and theregulating valve that is capable of regulating the flow rate of the gasflowing through the introduction pipe. Therefore, even in a case wherethe gas leaks from the chamber to the outside, the gas can be filled inthe chamber via the joint pipe, the introduction pipe, and theregulating valve.

According to the invention according to the eighth aspect, the filter isprovided on the upstream side of the flow of the atmosphere circulatedby the air flow generator with respect the air flow generator, and theintroduction pipe is connected to the section of the joint pipe on thedownstream side of the flow of the atmosphere with respect to thefilter. Therefore, it is possible to suppress mixing of the specificcomponent of the processing fluid into the specific gas introduced intothe joint pipe from the introduction pipe, the processing fluid beingmixed with the atmosphere and discharged to the joint pipe from thechamber, and to suppress deterioration of the air flow generator due tothe component of the processing fluid.

According the invention according to the ninth aspect, the substrateprocessing device further includes the on-off valve mechanism thatbrings one of the return pipe and the pipe for exhaust equipment intothe open state and brings the other into the closed state. Therefore,the substrate processing device can selectively perform circulation ofthe atmosphere in the chamber discharged from the chamber into thechamber via the return pipe and discharge of the atmosphere into theexhaust equipment via the pipe for exhaust equipment.

According to the invention according to the tenth aspect, the controllerperforms control for circulating the atmosphere discharged from thechamber into the chamber via the return pipe when the required exhaustamount of the substrate processing device exceeds the exhaust amountallocated to the substrate processing device out of the exhaust amountof the exhaust equipment, and performs control for discharging theatmosphere into the exhaust equipment via the pipe for exhaust equipmentwhen the required exhaust amount does not exceed the allocated exhaustamount. Therefore, the substrate processing device can circulate theatmosphere only in a case where the exhaust amount allocated to thedevice from the exhaust equipment is insufficient.

According to the invention according to the eleventh aspect, the controlinformation includes information in which the process of substrateprocessing that the substrate processing device is capable of executingand the opening and closing state of the on-off valve mechanism arecorrelated with each other so that the opening and closing control canbe executed. Therefore, the controller can perform control forcirculating the atmosphere in the case of performing the process of thesubstrate processing in which the exhaust amount allocated to the deviceby the exhaust equipment is insufficient, and can perform control fordischarging the atmosphere to the exhaust equipment in the case ofexecuting the process of the substrate processing in which the exhaustamount is not insufficient.

According to the invention according to the twelfth aspect, the controlinformation includes the index value corresponding to the exhaust amountallocated to the substrate processing device by the exhaust equipmentand the index value corresponding to the required exhaust amount of thesubstrate processing device. Therefore, the controller can make adetermination as to whether or not the exhaust amount allocated to thesubstrate processing device by the exhaust equipment is insufficientcompared with the required exhaust amount of the substrate processingdevice, and can perform the opening and closing control of the on-offvalve mechanism according to the determination.

According to the invention according to the thirteenth aspect, theon-off valve mechanism includes the first on-off valve that is providedat the section of the vertical pipe on the upstream side of the flow ofthe atmosphere circulated by the air flow generator with respect to thefilter and is capable of opening and closing the vertical pipe, and thesecond on-off valve capable of opening and closing the pipe for exhaustequipment. Therefore, by opening one of the first on-off valve and thesecond on-off valve and closing the other, the substrate processingdevice can selectively perform circulation of the atmosphere in thechamber discharged from the chamber via the return pipe and discharge ofthe atmosphere to the exhaust equipment via the pipe for exhaustequipment.

According to the invention according to the fourteenth aspect, thesubstrate processing device further includes: the introduction pipe thatcauses the supply source of the specific gas and the vertical pipe tocommunicate with each other so as to be capable of introducing the gasinto the vertical pipe; and the regulating valve that is capable ofregulating the flow rate of the gas flowing through the introductionpipe, in which the introduction pipe is connected to the section of thejoint pipe on the downstream side of the flow of the atmospherecirculated by the air flow generator with respect to the filter.Therefore, it is possible to suppress mixing of the specific componentof the processing fluid into the specific gas introduced into the jointpipe from the introduction pipe, the processing fluid being mixed withthe atmosphere and discharged to the joint pipe from the chamber, and tosuppress deterioration of the air flow generator due to the component ofthe processing fluid.

According to the invention according to the sixteenth aspect, thesubstrate processing mechanism discharges as the processing fluid thepure water or the functional water to the substrate to perform thecleaning processing or the rinsing processing. Since the substrateprocessing mechanism does not use a chemical solution such as SC1, mistsoriginating from the chemical solution are not generated. Therefore,when the atmosphere in the chamber is circulated by the joint pipe andis introduced into the chamber again, the likelihood that the substratewill be contaminated by the atmosphere can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view schematically illustrating asubstrate processing device according to Embodiment 1.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view illustrating part of one substrate processingunit in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view schematically illustrating asubstrate processing device according to a comparative technique.

FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view schematically illustrating asubstrate processing device according to Embodiment 2.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to thedrawings. The following embodiments are examples embodying the presentinvention and are not cases of limiting the technical scope of thepresent invention. In addition, in each of the drawings referred tobelow, for easy understanding, the dimensions and the number of eachpart may be exaggerated or illustrated in a simplified manner. Inaddition, in each drawing, identical reference signs are given to partshaving similar configurations and functions, and an overlappingexplanation is omitted in the following description. The top-bottomdirection is the vertical direction, and the top indicates a substrateside with respect to a spin chuck.

<1. Substrate Processing Device 100>

The configuration of a substrate processing device 100 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional viewschematically illustrating the substrate processing device 100 accordingto Embodiment 1. FIG. 2 is an enlarged side cross-sectional viewillustrating part of one substrate processing unit 1 of the substrateprocessing device 100.

The substrate processing device 100 is a system for processing asubstrate W such as a semiconductor wafer. The front surface shape ofthe substrate W is substantially circular. The radius of the substrate Wis, for example, 150 mm. The substrate processing device 100 includes aplurality of substrate processing units 1. The substrate processingdevice 100 can continuously process the substrates W one by one in therespective substrate processing units 1 and can also processsimultaneously a plurality of substrates W in the plurality of substrateprocessing units 1.

The substrate processing device 100 includes a plurality of cells(processing blocks) (specifically, an indexer cell 110 and a processingcell 120) disposed in parallel to each other, and a controller 130collectively controls respective operation mechanisms and the likeincluded in the plurality of cells 110, 120. The controller 130 alsocontrols a substrate carrying device 200 included in the plurality ofcells 110, 120. The substrate processing device 100 is placed on a floorsurface 161 of a factory or the like with a plurality of leg parts 171interposed therebetween.

<Indexer Cell 110>

The indexer cell 110 is a cell for transferring an unprocessed substrateW received from outside the device to the processing cell 120 and forcarrying the processed substrate W received from the processing cell 120to the outside of the device. The indexer cell 110 includes a carrierstage 111 on which a carrier C is placed, and a transfer robot IR forcarrying the substrate W into and out of the carrier C.

The carrier C housing therein a plurality of unprocessed substrates W iscarried into and placed on the carrier stage 111 from outside the deviceby an overhead hoist transfer (OHT) or the like. The unprocessedsubstrates W are taken out one by one from the carrier C and processedin the device, and the processed substrates W which have been processedin the device are housed in the carrier C again. The carrier C housingtherein the processed substrates W is carried to the outside of thedevice by the OHT or the like. In this manner, the carrier stage 111functions as a substrate accumulating part that accumulates theunprocessed substrates W and the processed substrates W. Note that themode of the carrier C may be a front opening unified pod (FOUP) housingtherein the substrates W in a sealed space, a standard mechanical interface (SMIF) pod, or an open cassette (OC) which exposes the housedsubstrates W to outside air.

The transfer robot IR can support the substrate W in a horizontalposture (a posture in which the main surface of the substrate W ishorizontal). The transfer robot IR takes out an unprocessed substrate Wfrom the carrier C placed on the carrier stage 111 and transfers thesubstrate W which has been taken out to a carrying robot (notillustrated) which will be described later. In addition, the transferrobot IR receives the processed substrate W from the carrying robot andcauses the received substrate W to be housed in the carrier C placed onthe carrier stage 111.

A fan-filter unit (FFU) 80 is provided above the transfer robot IR, andan exhaust device (not illustrated) for discharging a gas supplied fromthe FFU 80 is provided below the transfer robot IR. The FFU 80 includesa fan 81 and an ULPA filter 71. The FFU 80 sends clean air in theindexer cell 110. The FFU 80 and the exhaust device form a downflow(downward flow) in the indexer cell 110.

<Processing Cell 120>

The processing cell 120 is a cell for processing the substrate W. Theprocessing cell 120 includes the plurality of substrate processing units1, a circulation system 6A that discharges the atmosphere in a chamber121 of each substrate processing unit 1 from the chamber 121 andcirculates the atmosphere into the chamber 121 again, and a carryingrobot that carries the substrate W into and out of the plurality ofsubstrate processing units 1. The circulation system 6A will bedescribed later.

The carrying robot and the transfer robot IR are the substrate carryingdevice 200. Here, a plurality of (for example, four) substrateprocessing units 1 is stacked in the vertical direction to constituteone substrate processing device group 10. In FIG. 1, the carrying robotis hidden behind the substrate processing device group 10 in thedirection perpendicular to the paper surface. The plurality of (forexample, four) substrate processing device groups 10 is disposed, forexample, in a cluster shape (as a bunch) so as to surround the carryingrobot. The substrate processing device 100 may include one substrateprocessing device group 10 or the substrate processing device group 10may include one substrate processing unit 1.

Each substrate processing unit 1 includes the chamber (“housing”) 121that forms a processing space therein. In the chamber 121, aninlet/outlet (not illustrated) through which a hand of the carryingrobot is inserted into the chamber 121 is formed. A shutter (notillustrated) that can be opened and closed under control of thecontroller 130 is provided at the inlet/outlet. The shutter is openedwhen the substrate W is carried into or out of the chamber 121 and isclosed during processing of the substrate W. The substrate processingunit 1 is disposed such that the inlet/outlet faces the space where thecarrying robot is disposed. The specific configuration of the substrateprocessing unit 1 will be described later.

The carrying robot is a robot that carries the substrate W whilesupporting the substrate W in a cantilever manner. The carrying robottakes out the processed substrate W from the specified substrateprocessing unit 1 and transfers the substrate W which has been taken outto the transfer robot IR at a substrate transfer position. In addition,the carrying robot receives the unprocessed substrate W from thetransfer robot IR at the substrate transfer position, and carries thereceived substrate W to the specified substrate processing unit 1.

<Controller 130>

The controller 130 controls operation of each of the group of substrateprocessing units 1. As the hardware configuration of the controller 130,for example, the hardware configuration similar to that of a generalcomputer can be adopted. That is, for example, the controller 130 isconfigured by connecting, to a bus line (not illustrated) a CPU 11 thatperforms various arithmetic processes, a ROM (not illustrated) that is aread-only memory that stores a basic program, a RAM (not illustrated)that is a readable and writable memory which stores various pieces ofinformation, and storage 12 that stores a program PG1, data and thelike. A recipe K1 that defines the processing contents and theprocessing procedure of the substrate W are also stored in the storage12. Control information K2 used for opening and closing control of anon-off valve mechanism 90 to be described later is also stored in thestorage 12.

In the controller 130, the CPU 11 serving as a controller performs thearithmetic processing according to the procedure described in theprogram PG1, thereby realizing various functional units for controllingeach part of the substrate processing device 100. Some or all of thefunctional units realized in the controller 130 may be realized ashardware by dedicated logic circuits or the like.

<2. Configuration of Substrate Processing Unit 1>

The configuration of the substrate processing unit 1 will be describedbelow with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 2 illustrates a state in which the substrate W is rotated in aspecific rotation direction about a rotary axis a1 by a spin chuck(“holding member”) 21 in a state in which a nozzle 51 and a splash guard31 are disposed at their respective processing positions. The carryingrobot carries the substrate W into and out of the substrate processingunit 1 in a state in which the nozzle 51 and the splash guard 31 aredisposed at retracted positions. The substrate W carried into thesubstrate processing unit 1 is detachably held by the spin chuck 21.

Note that in the following description, a “processing liquid” includes a“chemical solution” used for chemical-solution processing and a “rinseliquid (also referred to as a “cleaning liquid”) used for rinsingprocessing for rinsing out the chemical solution.

The substrate processing unit 1 includes a substrate processingmechanism Al and a scattering prevention part 3. The substrateprocessing mechanism A1 is housed in the chamber 121. The inside of thechamber 121 is at atmospheric pressure. The substrate processingmechanism A1 is a mechanism that discharges a processing fluid to thesubstrate W held by the spin chuck 21 to process the substrate W. Thesubstrate processing mechanism A1 includes a rotating and holdingmechanism 2 and a processor 5. The rotating and holding mechanism 2, thescattering prevention part 3, and the processor 5 are electricallyconnected to the controller 130, and operate according to an instructionfrom the controller 130. The controller 130 controls each part of thesubstrate processing unit 1 by causing the CPU 11 serving as acontroller to perform arithmetic processing according to the proceduredescribed in the program PG1.

<Rotating and Holding Mechanism 2>

The rotating and holding mechanism 2 is a mechanism that is rotatablewhile holding the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture in astate where one main surface of the substrate W faces upward. Therotating and holding mechanism 2 rotates the substrate W about thevertical rotary axis a1 passing through a center cl of the main surface.

The rotating and holding mechanism 2 includes a spin chuck (“holdingmember”) 21, which is a disk-shaped member smaller than the substrate W.The spin chuck 21 is provided such that the upper surface thereof issubstantially horizontal, and the center axis thereof matches the rotaryaxis a1. A cylindrical rotating shaft part 22 is connected to the lowersurface of the spin chuck 21. The rotating shaft part 22 is disposed insuch a posture that the axis line thereof extends along the verticaldirection. The axis line of the rotating shaft part 22 matches therotary axis a1. In addition, a rotary drive unit (for example, a motor)23 is connected to the rotating shaft part 22. The rotary drive unit 23drives the rotating shaft part 22 so that the rotating shaft part 22rotates about the axis line thereof. Therefore, the spin chuck 21 canrotate about the rotary axis a1 together with the rotating shaft part22. The rotary drive unit 23 and the rotating shaft part 22 are arotation mechanism for rotating the spin chuck 21 about the rotary axisa1.

The spin chuck 21 is provided with a plurality of suction ports (notillustrated) for sucking the substrate W. Each suction port opens on theupper surface (“front surface”) of the spin chuck 21. A pressurereducing mechanism (not illustrated) communicates with each suctionport. The pressure reducing mechanism can perform pressure-reducingoperation for reducing the pressure inside the suction port. Inaddition, the pressure reducing mechanism can also perform pressurerecovering operation for recovering the reduced pressure (atmosphericpressure) in the suction port.

When the pressure reducing mechanism reduces the pressure inside thesuction port in a state where the substrate W is placed on the uppersurface of the spin chuck 21 in a substantially horizontal posture, thespin chuck 21 sucks the substrate W from below and holds the substrate Win a substantially horizontal state. In addition, when the pressurereducing mechanism recovers the pressure in the suction port, thesubstrate W can be detached from the upper surface of the spin chuck 21.

In this configuration, when the rotary drive unit 23 rotates therotating shaft part 22 in a state in which the spin chuck 21 sucks thesubstrate W and holds the substrate W in a substantially horizontalstate, the spin chuck 21 is rotated about the axis line along thevertical direction. As a result, the substrate W held on the spin chuck21 is rotated about the vertical rotary axis a1 passing through thecenter cl on the plane of the substrate W.

<Scattering Prevention Part 3>

The scattering prevention part 3 receives a processing liquid or thelike scattered from the substrate W rotated together with the spin chuck21. The scattering prevention part 3 includes the splash guard 31 and araising and lowering mechanism (not illustrated) for raising andlowering the splash guard 31.

The splash guard 31 is a tubular member whose upper end is opened and isprovided so as to surround the spin chuck 21. When the substrate W isprocessed, the splash guard 31 is disposed such that the upper endthereof is in a processing position above the substrate W held by thespin chuck 21, receives the processing liquid discharged from theperipheral edge of the substrate W, collects the processing liquid inthe bottom part thereof, and discharges the processing liquid to adrainage line of a factory through a drain pipe 151 communicating withthe space in the bottom part. When the substrate W is carried into thespin chuck 21, the splash guard 31 is disposed at a retracted positionwhere the upper end thereof is located below the spin chuck 21. Theraising and lowering mechanism of the splash guard 31 is electricallyconnected to the controller 130 and operates under control of thecontroller 130. That is, the position of the splash guard 31 iscontrolled by the controller 130.

Note that an upper opening 41 of a joint pipe 60 to be described later,facing the inside of the chamber 121, is formed above the spin chuck 21,and a lower opening 42 of the joint pipe 60, facing the space surroundedby the splash guard 31 is formed below the spin chuck 21. By operationof an air flow generator 82 to be described later, the atmosphere in thechamber 121 (space surrounded by the splash guard 31) is discharged fromthe lower opening 42 to the joint pipe 60. The discharged atmospherebecomes a gas (atmosphere) with which a relatively clean gas F2introduced into the joint pipe 60 from an introduction pipe 69 to bedescribed later is mixed and is introduced again into the chamber 121via the upper opening 41. The introduced atmosphere forms a downflow D1in the chamber 121, flows toward the lower opening 42 along the frontsurface of the substrate W or the like, and is discharged again from thelower opening 42 to the joint pipe 60.

<Processor 5>

The processor 5 performs specific processing on the substrate W held onthe spin chuck 21. Specifically, for example, the processor 5 suppliesthe processing liquid to the substrate W held on the spin chuck 21, andprocesses the substrate W.

The processor 5 includes the nozzle 51. The nozzle 51 is moved betweenthe processing position and a retracted position by a nozzle movingmechanism, not illustrated. The front end part (lower end part) of thenozzle 51 projects downward and has a discharge port at the front endthereof.

To the nozzle 51, a processing liquid supply part (not illustrated)which is a piping system for supplying the processing liquid to thenozzle 51 is connected. The processing liquid is supplied from theprocessing liquid supply part to the nozzle 51, and the processingliquid is discharged from the discharge port at the front end of thenozzle 51. The processor 5 discharges a liquid flow of a processingliquid L1 from the nozzle 51 under control of the controller 130.

The processing liquid supply part supplies the processing liquid(“processing fluid”) L1 to the nozzle 51. For example, SC1, DHF, SC2, arinse liquid, or the like is adopted as the processing liquid L1. As therinse liquid, pure water, warm water, ozone water, magnetic water,reduced water (hydrogen water), various organic solvents (ion water, IPA(isopropyl alcohol), functional water (CO2 water, or the like), or thelike is adopted. The nozzle to which the processing liquid L1 issupplied from the processing liquid supply part discharges the liquidflow of the processing liquid L1 so that the liquid flow hits therotating substrate W. The processing liquid supply part includes anon-off valve (not illustrated) provided correspondingly to the nozzle51. The on-off valve is opened and closed under control of thecontroller 130 by a valve opening and closing mechanism (notillustrated) electrically connected to the controller 130. That is, adischarge manner of the processing liquid from the nozzle 51(specifically, the type, discharge start timing, discharge end timing,discharge flow rate, and the like of the processing liquid to bedischarged) is controlled by the controller 130.

Note that in lieu of the processing liquid supply part, a processingfluid supply part for supplying an etching gas or the like may beadopted. In this case, the etching gas is supplied from the nozzle 51 tothe substrate W, and the substrate W is etched.

<3. Configuration of Circulation System 6A>

The circulation system 6A discharges the atmosphere in the chamber 121of the substrate processing unit 1 (more specifically, in the splashguard 31) from the substrate processing unit 1 and introduces theatmosphere again into the chamber 121 to circulate the atmosphere in thechamber 121. The circulation system 6A includes the joint pipe 60 andthe air flow generator 82 provided in the joint pipe 60. The air flowgenerator 82 is configured by including, for example, a fan and thelike.

The joint pipe 60 includes a plurality of (four in the illustratedexample) pipes 61, a tank 62, a pipe 63, a tank 64, and a return pipe60A. Each pipe 61 extends from below each splash guard 31 in eachchamber 121, passes through each chamber 121, and is disposed outsideeach chamber 121. A front end of each pipe 61 is connected to the upperpart of the tank 62. A lower opening 42 is formed in a section of eachpipe 61 below the splash guard 31 so as to face the space surrounded bythe splash guard 31 in the internal space of the chamber 121. The loweropening 42 is formed, for example, in an annular shape surrounding thebottom part of the rotary drive unit 23. The atmosphere in the spacesurrounded by each splash guard 31, that is, the atmosphere in eachchamber 121 is discharged from each lower opening 42 to each pipe 61,that is, the joint pipe 60. In the joint pipe 60, a flow F1 of thedischarged atmosphere is formed. In addition, the pipe 63 causes thetank 62 and the tank 64 to communicate with each other. The tank 64 isprovided so as to be able to receive the processing liquid (liquid) L1mixed in the atmosphere and discharged from the chamber 121 to the jointpipe 60. A vertical pipe 65 extends upward from the tank 64 so that theinternal space thereof and the internal space of the tank 64 communicatewith each other.

The circulation system 6A further includes a pipe 153 for exhaustequipment. The pipe 153 for exhaust equipment branches off from thejoint pipe 60 and causes the joint pipe 60 to communicate with externalexhaust equipment 95 and guides the atmosphere discharged to the jointpipe 60 to the exhaust equipment 95. Each of the pipe 153 for exhaustequipment and the return pipe 60A is connected to the tank 64. Theexhaust equipment 95 is provided, for example, below a floor surface 161of a factory or the like. The circulation system 6A further includes adrain pipe 152. The drain pipe 152 communicates with the internal spaceof the tank 64, and discharges the liquid received by the tank 64 to theoutside. The pipe 153 for exhaust equipment connects to the tank 64 at alocation higher than the opening of the drain pipe 152 facing the insideof the tank 64, and includes an opening facing the inside of the tank64.

The return pipe 60A includes the vertical pipe 65 extending upward fromthe tank 64, and a horizontal pipe 66 connected to the front end of thevertical pipe 65 and extending in the horizontal direction above thesubstrate processing device group 10. In the example of FIG. 1, the airflow generator 82 is provided in the horizontal pipe 66. If the air flowgenerator 82 is provided in the horizontal pipe 66, the footprint of thesubstrate processing device 100 can be suppressed. The vertical pipe 65is provided such that the flow of the atmosphere circulated by the airflow generator 82 can rise inside the vertical pipe 65 and at least partof the vertical pipe 65 is provided so as to be positioned on theupstream side of the flow of the atmosphere with respect to the air flowgenerator 82.

In upper walls of the chambers 121 of the respective substrateprocessing units 1, through holes through which a vertical pipe 67 to bedescribed later can be inserted are provided at identical locations intop view. A front end of the horizontal pipe 66 extends above thethrough holes. The return pipe 60A further includes the vertical pipe 67extending downward from the front end of the horizontal pipe 66 andpassing through each through hole of each chamber 121. As a result, thevertical pipe 67 is sequentially introduced into the chambers 121 of thesubstrate processing units 1 in order from the top to the bottom. Thegap between the through hole of each chamber 121 and the vertical pipe67 is sealed. The return pipe 60A further includes a plurality of (fourin the illustrated example) branch pipes 68. Each branch pipe 68 isconnected to each section of the vertical pipe 67 located in an upperside in each chamber 121. Each branch pipe 68 horizontally extends abovethe splash guard 31 in each chamber 121. An upper opening 41 is formedin a section of each branch pipe 68 above the splash guard 31 so as toface the splash guard 31. The ULPA filter 71 is attached to the frontend section of each branch pipe 68. The atmosphere in the chamber 121discharged from the chamber 121 to the joint pipe 60 passes through thejoint pipe 60, reaches the front end of the branch pipe 68, is purifiedby the ULPA filter 71, and is supplied into the chamber 121.

As described above, the joint pipe 60 includes the vertical pipe 65extending in the top-bottom direction. In addition, the joint pipe 60includes the lower opening 42 provided below the spin chuck 21 andfacing the inside of the chamber 121, and the upper opening 41 providedabove the spin chuck 21 and facing the inside of the chamber 121. Inaddition, the joint pipe 60 is disposed such that at least part of thejoint pipe 60 from the lower opening 42 to the upper opening 41 passesoutside the chamber 121. The return pipe 60A is a section of the jointpipe 60 ranging to the upper opening 41 from the downstream side of theflow of the atmosphere circulated by the air flow generator 82 withrespect to the pipe 153 for exhaust equipment.

The air flow generator 82 circulates the atmosphere containing thespecific gas F2 in the chamber 121 by discharging the atmosphere in thechamber 121 from the lower opening 42 to the joint pipe 60 to allow theatmosphere to pass through the joint pipe 60, thereby introducing theatmosphere again into the chamber 121 via the upper opening 41 so thatthe downflow D1 of the atmosphere occurs in the chamber 121. As the gasF2, for example, air is adopted. As the gas F2, for example, N2 gas maybe adopted.

The circulation system 6A preferably further includes a filter 72 in thejoint pipe 60. The filter 72 can remove a specific component containedin the processing liquid (processing fluid) L1 from the atmospheredischarged from the chamber 121 to the joint pipe 60. The filter 72 ispreferably provided on the upstream side of the flow of the atmospherecirculated by the air flow generator 82 with respect to the air flowgenerator 82. The filter 72 is a filter 72 capable of removing theprocessing liquid L1 in a form of mist, that is, a liquid in a form ofmist from the atmosphere; however, a filter which can also remove dustcontained in the atmosphere to some extent is preferably selected. Asthe filter 72, for example, a mist filter for removing moisture in adroplet state (misty state), a chemical filter for removing a certainchemical substance contained in the processing fluid by a chemicalreaction, or the like is adopted. For example, in a case where SC1 isadopted as the processing liquid, it is assumed that the joint pipe 60,the air flow generator 82, and the like are corroded by ammonia (alkali)contained in SC1. Therefore, a chemical filter for removing the alkalineatmosphere is preferably attached to the vertical pipe 65.

As described above, at least part of the vertical pipe 65 is provided soas to be positioned on the upstream side of the flow of the atmospherewith respect to the air flow generator 82, and the filter 72 ispreferably provided in the part of the vertical pipe 65, that is, asection of the vertical pipe 65 on the upstream side of the flow of theatmosphere with respect to the air flow generator 82. In the atmospheredischarged from the chamber 121, the processing liquid (liquid) L1 in aform of mist is contained. The filter 72 can remove the processingliquid (liquid) L1 in a form of mist from the atmosphere discharged fromthe chamber 121. In addition, the filter 72 is preferably provided in asection of the vertical pipe 65, closer to the tank 64 than to the airflow generator 82.

The circulation system 6A further includes the introduction pipe 69 anda regulating valve 93. The introduction pipe 69 is a pipe that causes asupply source (not illustrated) of the specific gas F2 and the jointpipe 60 to communicate with each other and can introduce the gas F2 intothe joint pipe 60. The introduction pipe 69 is preferably connected to asection of the joint pipe 60 on the downstream side of the flow of theatmosphere with respect to the filter 72. The regulating valve 93 is avalve which can adjust the flow rate of the gas F2 flowing through theintroduction pipe 69. The regulating valve 93 can adjust the openingdegree thereof under control of the controller 130.

Here, since the carrying robot has a movable part, the atmosphere in arobot chamber where the carrying robot exists is dirtier than theatmosphere in the chamber 121. It is not preferable that the atmosphereenters the chamber 121. Therefore, the substrate processing device 100suppresses entrance of the dirty atmosphere into the chamber 121 fromthe robot chamber where the carrying robot exists by leaking the air inthe chamber 121 to the robot chamber. Therefore, it is necessary tocompensate for the air leaked into the robot chamber from the chamber121. The substrate processing device 100 includes the introduction pipe69 connected to the supply source of the specific gas F2 and theregulating valve 93 provided in the introduction pipe 69. Note that theregulating valve 93 may be an on-off valve that can only be fully closedand fully opened.

The circulation system 6A further includes the on-off valve mechanism 90that allows one of the return pipe 60A and the pipe 153 for exhaustequipment to be in an open state and the other to be in a closed state.The on-off valve mechanism 90 includes a first on-off valve 91 and asecond on-off valve 92. The first on-off valve 91 is provided in asection of the vertical pipe 65 on the upstream side of the flow of theatmosphere circulated by the air flow generator 82 with respect to thefilter 72, and is provided so as to be able to open and close thevertical pipe 65. The second on-off valve 92 is provided so as to beable to open and close the pipe 153 for exhaust equipment.

The controller 130 performs opening and closing control of the on-offvalve mechanism 90 so that one of the return pipe 60A and the pipe 153for exhaust equipment is in the open state and the other is in theclosed state. The opening and closing control is control for bringingthe return pipe 60A into the open state and bringing the pipe 153 forexhaust equipment into the closed state when the required exhaust amountof the substrate processing device 100 exceeds the exhaust amountallocated to the substrate processing device 100 out of the exhaustamount of the exhaust equipment 95, and bringing the return pipe 60Ainto the closed state and bringing the pipe 153 for exhaust equipmentinto the open state when the required exhaust amount does not exceed theallocated exhaust amount.

The controller 130 previously stores the control information K2 inputvia an input device such as a keyboard (not illustrated) in the storage12. The CPU 11 of the controller 130 acquires the control information K2from the storage 12 and performs opening and closing control of theon-off valve mechanism 90 according to the control information K2.

The control information K2 is information in which, for example, theprocess of substrate processing that the substrate processing device 100is capable of performing and the opening and closing state of the on-offvalve mechanism 90 are correlated with each other so that desiredopening and closing control of the on-off valve mechanism 90 can beexecuted. More specifically, for example, in the control information K2,a plurality of processes that can be performed by the substrateprocessing device 100 is classified into a process in which the exhaustamount allocated to the device is insufficient, that is, shortage of theexhaust amount allocated to the device is expected, and a process inwhich there is more than enough power that the exhaust equipment 95requires.

In addition, for example, the control information K2 includes an indexvalue corresponding to the exhaust amount allocated to the substrateprocessing device by the exhaust equipment 95 and an index valuecorresponding to the required exhaust amount of the substrate processingdevice. For example, these index values are acquired in advance by thecontroller 130 from the exhaust equipment 95 or the like and are storedin the storage 12. The controller 130 determines whether the exhaustamount allocated to the device according to the magnitude of therespective index values is greater than the required exhaust amount ofthe device, that is, whether or not the exhaust amount allocated to thedevice is insufficient. The controller 130 circulates the atmospherethrough the joint pipe 60 in a case where the exhaust amount allocatedto the device is insufficient.

Note that in a case where the time period during which the exhaustamount allocated to the device by the exhaust equipment 95 isinsufficient with respect to the required exhaust amount of the deviceand the time period in which the exhaust amount is not insufficient canbe predicted according to the operation schedule of the respectivedevices that discharge gas to the exhaust equipment 95, the controller130 may perform the opening and closing control of the on-off valvemechanism 90 according to the operation schedule.

According to the substrate processing device 1 according to the presentembodiment 1 configured as described above, the joint pipe 60 includesthe lower opening 42 and the upper opening 41 each of which faces theinside of the chamber 121, and is disposed such that at least partthereof from the lower opening 42 to the upper opening 41 passes throughthe outside of the chamber 121. The air flow generator 82 provided inthe joint pipe 60 circulates the atmosphere containing the specific gasin the chamber 121 by discharging the atmosphere in the chamber 121 fromthe lower opening 42 to the joint pipe 60 to allow the atmosphere topass through the joint pipe 60, thereby introducing the atmosphere againinto the chamber 121 via the upper opening 41 so that a downflow D1 ofthe atmosphere occurs in the chamber 121. Thus, the substrate processingdevice can discharge the atmosphere in the chamber 121 to the outside ofthe chamber 121 even if the substrate processing device is not connectedto the external exhaust equipment 95. Therefore, the substrateprocessing device can sufficiently discharge the atmosphere in thechamber 121 even in a case where the exhaust amount allocated by theexternal exhaust equipment 95 is quite insufficient compared with therequired exhaust amount.

In addition, according to the substrate processing device according tothe present embodiment 1, the substrate processing device furtherincludes the filter 72 provided in the joint pipe 60 and capable ofremoving the specific component contained in the processing fluid fromthe atmosphere discharged from the chamber 121 into the joint pipe 60.Therefore, the atmosphere discharged from the chamber 121 to the jointpipe 60 is purified by the filter 72 and is then circulated into thechamber 121 again. As a result, the quality of substrate processing canbe improved.

Further, according to the substrate processing device according to thepresent embodiment 1, the filter 72 is provided on the upstream side ofthe flow of the atmosphere circulated by the air flow generator 82 withrespect to the air flow generator 82. Therefore, since the atmospherepurified by the filter 72 is sent to the air flow generator 82,deterioration of the air flow generator 82 due to the component of theprocessing fluid mixed in the atmosphere can be suppressed.

In addition, the substrate processing device according to the presentembodiment 1, the processing fluid contains the specific liquid, and thefilter 72 is capable of removing the liquid in the form of mist from theatmosphere and is provided in the section of the vertical pipe 65included in the joint pipe 60, on the upstream side of the flow of theatmosphere with respect to the air flow generator 82. Therefore, theliquid in the form of mist in the atmosphere separated by the filter 72easily drips downward along the vertical pipe 65.

According to the substrate processing device according to the presentembodiment 1, since the tank 64 is provided at the lower end in thevertical direction of the joint pipe 60, drops (large droplets) of thespecific liquid discharged to the joint pipe 60 together with theatmosphere in the chamber 121 flow into the tank 64 along an inner wallof the joint pipe 60 and are received by the tank 64. The liquid in theform of mist mixed with the atmosphere and is discharged to the jointpipe 60 flows from the tank 64 to the vertical pipe 65 together with theatmosphere, but the liquid is removed by the filter 72. Therefore, onthe downstream side of the flow of the atmosphere with respect to thefilter 72, the atmosphere from which both the liquid in the form ofdrops and the liquid in the form of mist are removed flows. Therefore,deterioration of the air flow generator 82 due to the component of theprocessing fluid is efficiently suppressed.

In addition, according to the substrate processing device according tothe present embodiment 1, the filter 72 is provided in the section ofthe vertical pipe 65, closer to the tank 64 than to the air flowgenerator 82. When the liquid in the form of mist in the processingfluid is separated from the atmosphere by the filter 72 and becomesdrops, and the drops drip down along the inner peripheral surface of thevertical pipe 65, if many drops adhere to the inner peripheral surface,resistance that the atmosphere flowing through the vertical pipe 65receives increases. However, if the filter 72 is closer to the tank 64than to the air flow generator 82 in the vertical pipe 65, the rangewhere drops adhere can be made smaller, so that the flow of theatmosphere in the vertical pipe 65 becomes smooth.

In addition, the substrate processing device according to the presentembodiment 1, the substrate processing device further includes: theintroduction pipe 69 that causes the supply source of the specific gasF2 contained in the atmosphere in the chamber 121 and the joint pipe 60to communicate with each other so as to be capable of introducing thegas F2 into the joint pipe 60; and the regulating valve 93 that iscapable of regulating the flow rate of the gas F2 flowing through theintroduction pipe 69. Therefore, even in a case where the gas F2 leaksfrom the chamber 121 to the outside, the gas F2 can be filled in thechamber 121 via the joint pipe 60, the introduction pipe 69, and theregulating valve 93.

In addition, according to the substrate processing device according tothe present embodiment 1, the filter 72 is provided on the upstream sideof the flow of the atmosphere circulated by the air flow generator 82with respect the air flow generator 82, and the introduction pipe 69 isconnected to the section of the joint pipe 60 on the downstream side ofthe flow of the atmosphere with respect to the filter 72. Therefore, itis possible to suppress mixing of the specific component of theprocessing fluid into the specific gas F2 introduced into the joint pipe60 from the introduction pipe 69, the processing fluid being mixed withthe atmosphere and discharged to the joint pipe 60 from the chamber 121,and to suppress deterioration of the air flow generator 82 due to thecomponent of the processing fluid.

In addition, the substrate processing device according to the presentembodiment 1, the substrate processing device further includes theon-off valve mechanism 90 that brings one of the return pipe 60A and thepipe 153 for exhaust equipment into the open state and brings the otherinto the closed state. Therefore, the substrate processing device canselectively perform circulation of the atmosphere discharged from thechamber 121 through the return pipe 60A into the chamber 121 anddischarge of the atmosphere to the exhaust equipment 95 via the pipe 153for exhaust equipment.

In addition, according the substrate processing device according to thepresent embodiment 1 configured as described above, the controller 130performs control for circulating the atmosphere discharged from thechamber 121 into the chamber 121 via the return pipe 60A when therequired exhaust amount of the substrate processing device exceeds theexhaust amount allocated to the substrate processing device out of theexhaust amount of the external exhaust equipment 95 and performs controlfor discharging the atmosphere into the exhaust equipment 95 via thepipe 153 for exhaust equipment when the required exhaust amount does notexceed the allocated exhaust amount. Therefore, the substrate processingdevice can circulate the atmosphere only in a case where the exhaustamount allocated to the device by the exhaust equipment 95 isinsufficient.

In addition, according to the substrate processing device according tothe present embodiment 1, the control information K2 includesinformation in which the process of substrate processing that can beexecuted by the substrate processing device and the opening and closingstate of the on-off valve mechanism 90 are correlated with each other sothat the opening and closing control can be executed. Therefore, thecontroller 130 can perform control for circulating the atmosphere in thecase of performing the process of the substrate processing in which theexhaust amount allocated to the device by the exhaust equipment 95 isinsufficient, and can perform control for discharging the atmosphere tothe exhaust equipment 95 in the case of executing the process of thesubstrate processing in which the exhaust amount is not insufficient.

According to the substrate processing device according to the presentembodiment 1, the control information K2 includes the index valuecorresponding to the exhaust amount allocated to the substrateprocessing device by the exhaust equipment 95 and the index valuecorresponding to the required exhaust amount of the substrate processingdevice. Therefore, the controller 130 can make a determination as towhether or not the exhaust amount allocated to the substrate processingdevice by the exhaust equipment 95 is insufficient compared with therequired exhaust amount of the substrate processing device, and canperform the opening and closing control of the on-off valve mechanism 90according to the determination.

In addition, according the substrate processing device according to thepresent embodiment 1, the on-off valve mechanism 90 includes: the firston-off valve 91 that is provided at the section of the vertical pipe 65on the upstream side of the flow of the atmosphere circulated by the airflow generator 82 with respect to the filter 72 and is capable ofopening and closing the vertical pipe 65; and the second on-off valve 92capable of opening and closing the pipe 153 for exhaust equipment.Therefore, by opening one of the first on-off valve 91 and the secondon-off valve 92 and closing the other, the substrate processing devicecan selectively perform circulation of the atmosphere discharged fromthe chamber 121 into the chamber 121 via the return pipe 60A anddischarge of the atmosphere to the exhaust equipment 95 via the pipe 153for exhaust equipment 95.

In addition, according the substrate processing device according to thepresent embodiment 1, the substrate processing device further includes:the introduction pipe 69 that causes the supply source of the specificgas F2 and the vertical pipe 65 to communicate with each other so as tobe capable of introducing the specific gas F2 into the vertical pipe 65;and the regulating valve 93 that is capable of regulating the flow rateof the gas F2 flowing through the introduction pipe 69, in which theintroduction pipe 69 is connected to the section of the joint pipe 60 onthe downstream side of the flow of the atmosphere circulated by the airflow generator 82 with respect to the filter 72. Therefore, it ispossible to suppress mixing of the specific component of the processingfluid into the specific gas F2 introduced into the joint pipe 60 fromthe introduction pipe 69, the processing fluid being mixed with theatmosphere and discharged to the joint pipe 60 from the chamber 121, andto suppress deterioration of the air flow generator 82 due to thecomponent of the processing fluid.

<4. Substrate Processing Device 102>

The configuration of a substrate processing device 102 will be describedwith reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional viewschematically illustrating the substrate processing device 102 accordingto Embodiment 2.

The substrate processing device 102 is a system for processing asubstrate W such as a semiconductor wafer, similarly to the substrateprocessing device 100 according to Embodiment 1.

The substrate processing device 102 is configured similarly to thesubstrate processing device 100 except that a processing cell 122 isprovided in lieu of the processing cell 120 of the substrate processingdevice 100 according to Embodiment 1. That is, the substrate processingdevice 102 includes an indexer cell 110, a processing cell 122, and acontroller 130. The controller 130 collectively controls respectiveoperation mechanisms and the like included in the plurality of cells110, 122. The controller 130 also controls a substrate carrying device200 included in the plurality of cells 110, 122.

<Processing Cell 122>

The processing cell 122 is a cell for processing the substrate W. Theprocessing cell 122 is configured similarly to the processing cell 120except that a circulation system 6B is provided in lieu of thecirculation system 6A of the processing cell 120. That is, theprocessing cell 122 includes a plurality of substrate processing units1, a circulation system 6B, and a carrying robot (not illustrated) forcarrying the substrates W into and out of the plurality of substrateprocessing units 1. The circulation system 6B discharges an atmospherein the chamber 121 of each substrate processing unit 1 from a chamber121 and circulates the atmosphere again into the chamber 121. Thecarrying robot of the processing cell 122 is configured similarly to thecarrying robot of the processing cell 120. The carrying robot and thetransfer robot IR are the substrate carrying device 200.

<5. Configuration of Circulation System 6B>

The circulation system 6B discharges the atmosphere in the chamber 121(more specifically, in the splash guard 31) of the substrate processingunit 1 from the substrate processing unit 1 and introduces theatmosphere again into the chamber 121 to circulate the atmosphere in thechamber 121.

The circulation system 6B is configured similarly to the circulationsystem 6A of the processing cell 120 except that the circulation system6B further includes an exhaust pipe 154 and a regulating valve 96, andfurther includes a hygrometer 78, a concentration meter 79, and achemical filter 73. That is, the circulation system 6B includes a jointpipe 60 and an air flow generator 82 provided in the joint pipe 60.

The air flow generator 82 circulates the atmosphere containing a gas F2in the chamber 121 by discharging the atmosphere in the chamber 121 froma lower opening 42 to the joint pipe 60 to allow the atmosphere to passthrough the joint pipe 60, thereby introducing the atmosphere again intothe chamber 121 via an upper opening 41 so that a downflow D1 of theatmosphere occurs in the chamber 121.

Similarly to the joint pipe 60 of the circulation system 6A, the jointpipe 60 of the circulation system 6B includes a plurality of (four inthe example of FIG. 4) pipes 61, a tank 62, a pipe 63, a tank 64, and areturn pipe 60A.

The return pipe 60A includes the vertical pipe 65 extending upward fromthe tank 64, and a horizontal pipe 66 connected to the front end of thevertical pipe 65 and extending in the horizontal direction above thesubstrate processing device group 10. In the example of FIG. 4, the airflow generator 82 is provided in the horizontal pipe 66.

The return pipe 60A further includes a vertical pipe 67. The verticalpipe 67 extends downward from a front end of the horizontal pipe 66 andis introduced into the chamber 121 of the uppermost substrate processingunit 1 and then is sequentially introduced into the chambers 121 of thesubstrate processing units 1 from the top to the bottom. The return pipe60A further includes a plurality of (four in the example of FIG. 4)branch pipes 68 branching off from the vertical pipe 67 and horizontallyextending above the splash guard 31 in each chamber 121.

The exhaust pipe 154 communicates with and connects to the joint pipe60. The exhaust pipe 154 extends from the joint pipe 60 to the outsideof the substrate processing device 102, and a front end of the exhaustpipe 154 opens to the outside space. The exhaust pipe 154 dischargespart of the atmosphere circulated by the air flow generator 82 to theoutside of the substrate processing device 102 as a flow F3 of theatmosphere.

The regulating valve 96 is provided in the exhaust pipe 154. Theregulating valve 96 is a valve which can regulate the flow rate of theflow F3 of the atmosphere. The opening degree of the regulating valve 96is set to an arbitrary opening degree between a closed state and an openstate under control of the controller 130. The flow rate of the flow F3of the atmosphere discharged by the exhaust pipe 154 changes accordingto the opening degree of the regulating valve 96. In a case where theatmosphere is not discharged from the exhaust pipe 154, the controller130 closes the regulating valve 96.

The exhaust pipe 154 is preferably connects to the joint pipe 60 on thedownstream side of the flow of the atmosphere circulated by the air flowgenerator 82 with respect to the air flow generator 82 and on theupstream side with respect to the location where the branch pipe 68 onthe most upstream side branches off from the vertical pipe 67. Thus, theflow rate of the atmosphere distributed to each chamber 121 can beadjusted by one exhaust pipe 154. In the example of FIG. 4, the exhaustpipe 154 connects to part of a section where a section of the horizontalpipe 66 on the downstream side of the flow of the atmosphere withrespect to the air flow generator 82 and a section of the vertical pipe67 on the upstream side with respect to the branch pipe 68 on the mostupstream side are combined (more specifically, for example, a jointsection between the horizontal pipe 66 and the vertical pipe 67).

Each pipe 61 of the joint pipe 60 extends from below each splash guard31 in each chamber 121, passes through each chamber 121, and is disposedoutside each chamber 121. A front end of each pipe 61 is connected tothe upper part of the tank 62. The atmosphere in the space surrounded byeach splash guard 31, that is, the atmosphere in each chamber 121 isdischarged through each lower opening 42 of each pipe 61 to each pipe61, that is, the joint pipe 60. In the joint pipe 60 (pipe 61), a flowF1 of the discharged atmosphere is formed.

The substrate processing device 102 further includes a chemical filter73 in each pipe 61. Each chemical filter 73 removes a specific chemicalsubstance from the atmosphere discharged from each chamber 121 to eachpipe 61 by a chemical reaction. In a case where a chemical solution isused as a processing liquid (processing fluid) L1, the chemicalsubstance is contained in the atmosphere as a mist or the like (mist orgas) which originates from the chemical solution.

The substrate processing device 102 further includes, in the joint pipe60, the hygrometer 78 for measuring the humidity in the atmospherecirculating through the joint pipe 60, and the concentration meter 79for measuring the concentration of a specific gas in the atmosphere. Thehygrometer 78 and the concentration meter 79 are electrically connectedto the controller 130, and measured values of the hygrometer 78 and theconcentration meter 79 are sent to the controller 130. The controller130 can control the substrate processing device 102 according to themeasured values. The hygrometer 78 is preferably provided on thedownstream side of the flow of the atmosphere circulated by the air flowgenerator 82 with respect to a filter 72.

<6. Regarding Control of Flow Rate of Downflow or the like in Chamber>

In a case where the on-off valve mechanism 90 brings the return pipe 60Ainto the open state and the pipe 153 for exhaust equipment into theclosed state and thus the atmosphere discharged to the joint pipe 60circulates through the circulation system 6B, an air flow of theatmosphere is generated in the joint pipe 60 when the air flow generator82 is driven, and the regulating valve 96 of the exhaust pipe 154receives pressure due to the air flow. Therefore, if the controller 130increases the opening degree of the regulating valve 96, the flow rateof the flow F3 of the atmosphere flowing out from the joint pipe 60through the exhaust pipe 154 to the outside of the substrate processingdevice 102 increases. In contrast, if the controller 130 reduces theopening degree of the regulating valve 96, the flow rate of the flow F3of the atmosphere decreases.

The air flow generator 82 generates a flow of the atmosphere having aconstant flow rate, for example, near the air flow generator 82 in thejoint pipe 60. If the flow rate of the flow F3 of the atmosphere flowingout from the joint pipe 60 through the exhaust pipe 154 to the outsideof the substrate processing device 102 increases, the flow rate of thedownflow D1 of the atmosphere passing through the joint pipe 60 and isintroduced into the chamber 121 through the upper opening 41 decreases.In contrast, if the flow rate of the flow F3 of the atmospheredecreases, the flow rate of the downflow D1 increases.

The flow rate of the atmosphere in the splash guard 31 of the chamber121 greatly affects the quality of substrate processing performed byeach substrate processing unit 1. If the flow rate of the downflow D1 ofthe atmosphere increases, the flow rate of the atmosphere in the splashguard 31 also increases. If the flow rate of the downflow D1 decreases,the flow rate of the atmosphere in the splash guard 31 also decreases.

Therefore, the substrate processing device 102 stores in advance theopening degree of the regulating valve 96 with which the desired flowrate of the downflow D1 is obtained as control information K2 for eachexecutable process. According to a recipe K1 and the control informationK2, the controller 130 acquires the opening degree of the regulatingvalve 96 corresponding to the process to be actually performed, andcontrols the regulating valve 96 such that the regulating valve 96 is atthe opening degree. The control information K2 also includes, forexample, information in which the process of substrate processing thatcan be executed by the substrate processing device 102 and the openingand closing state of the on-off valve mechanism 90 are correlated witheach other so that desired opening and closing control of the on-offvalve mechanism 90 can be executed.

In addition, in a case where the processing liquid L1 used by asubstrate processing mechanism A1 is a chemical solution, it is notpreferable from the viewpoint of environment that the atmospherecontaining mists or the like (mists or gas) originating from thechemical solution leaks from the chamber 121 to the outside of thesubstrate processing device 102. In contrast, in a case where theprocessing liquid L1 is pure water or functional water, even if theatmosphere containing mists or the like of them leaks from the chamber121 to the outside of the substrate processing device 102, it does notbecome a serious problem. In the case where the processing liquid L1 ispure water or functional water, since dust or the like accumulated inthe chamber 121 can be discharged to the outside of the chamber 121together with the atmosphere, it is rather preferable that theatmosphere in the chamber 121 leaks to the outside of the substrateprocessing device 102 from the chamber 121.

As described above, from the viewpoint of environment, that is, as towhether leakage of the atmosphere in the chamber 121 (splash guard 31)to the outside of the chamber 121 becomes a problem or does not become aserious problem, it is necessary to adjust the magnitude relationshipbetween the flow rate of the downflow D1 of the atmosphere to beintroduced into the chamber 121 via the upper opening 41 and the flowrate of the flow F1 of the atmosphere discharged from the splash guard31 through the lower opening 42 to the joint pipe 60 (pipe 61).

If the flow rate of the downflow D1 flowing into the chamber 121 isgreater than the flow rate of the flow F1 of the atmosphere dischargedfrom the chamber 121, the pressure inside the chamber 121 is higher thaneach of the pressure outside the chamber 121 and the pressure inside ofthe pipe 61 of the joint pipe 60, and therefore the atmosphere in thechamber 121 is easily discharged to the outside of the chamber 121 andto the pipe 61. Therefore, for example, in a case where the processingliquid L1 is pure water, functional water, or the like, it is preferablethat the substrate processing device 102 reduces the opening degree ofthe regulating valve 96 so that the flow rate of the downflow D1 isgreater than the flow rate of the flow F1 of the atmosphere.

In contrast, if the flow rate of the downflow D1 is smaller than theflow rate of the flow F 1 of the atmosphere to be discharged, thepressure inside the chamber 121 becomes lower than each of the pressureoutside the chamber 121 and the pressure inside the pipe 61 of the jointpipe 60, and therefore the atmosphere of the chamber 121 is less likelyto be discharged to the outside of the chamber 121 and to the pipe 61.Therefore, for example, in a case where the processing liquid L1 is achemical solution, it is preferable that the substrate processing device102 increases the opening degree of the regulating valve 96 so that theflow rate of the downflow D1 is smaller than the flow rate of the flowF1 of the atmosphere.

The substrate processing device 102 also stores as control informationK2 the correspondence relationship between each process of substrateprocessing that can be executed by the substrate processing device 102and the preferable opening degree of the regulating valve 96 in thestorage 12. By referring to the recipe K1 and the control informationK2, the controller 130 acquires the opening degree of the regulatingvalve 96 corresponding to the process to be executed, and controls theregulating valve 96 such that the regulating valve 96 is at the acquiredopening degree.

As described above, the substrate processing device 102 includes theexhaust pipe 154 provided in the joint pipe 60, and the regulating valve96 is provided in the exhaust pipe 154. Therefore, according to thesubstrate processing device 102, by adjusting the opening degree of theregulating valve 96 and adjusting the flow rate of the flow F3 of theatmosphere passing through the exhaust pipe 154 and discharged, it ispossible to easily adjust the flow rate of the downflow D1 of theatmosphere introduced into the chamber 121 via the upper opening 41.

In a case where the substrate processing device 102 adjusts the openingdegree of the regulating valve 93 to change the flow rate of the gas F2passing through the introduction pipe 69 and introduced into the jointpipe 60, the flow rate of the downflow D1 changes depending on thebalance between the flow rate of the gas F2 and the flow rate of theflow F3 of the atmosphere discharged from the exhaust pipe 154.

Therefore, in the substrate processing device 102, it is more preferablethat the correspondence relationship between each process of substrateprocessing that can be executed by the substrate processing device 102and the opening degrees of the regulating valves 93, 96 preferable foreach process is acquired in advance and stored in the storage 12 as thecontrol information K2, and the controller 130 refers to the recipe K1and the control information K2 to acquire the opening degrees of theregulating valves 93, 96 corresponding to the process to be executed,and controls the regulating valves 93, 96 so that the acquired openingdegrees are obtained.

<7. Regarding Control of Humidity and Oxygen Concentration inAtmosphere>

In a case where the substrate processing unit 1 uses, for example, purewater as the processing liquid L1 to perform processing, the atmospheredischarged from the chamber 121 to the joint pipe 60 contains a largeamount of moisture in a droplet state (misty state). In a case where theon-off valve mechanism 90 brings the return pipe 60A into the closedstate and the pipe 153 for exhaust equipment into the open state, theatmosphere discharged from the chamber 121 to the joint pipe 60 passesthrough the pipe 153 for exhaust equipment and is discharged to theexhaust equipment 95. Therefore, even if the discharged atmospherecontains a large amount of moisture, it does not become a seriousproblem.

However, in a case where the on-off valve mechanism 90 brings the returnpipe 60A into the open state and the pipe 153 for exhaust equipment intothe closed state and thus the atmosphere discharged to the joint pipe 60circulates through the circulation system 6B, humidity of thecirculating atmosphere may be higher than a specific reference valuedetermined for the process. Therefore, when the humidity in theatmosphere measured by the hygrometer 78 becomes higher than thereference value, the controller 130 of the substrate processing device102 increases the opening degree of the regulating valve 93 andintroduces more dry air or the like through the introduction pipe 69into the joint pipe 60. As a result, the humidity in the atmosphere canbe lowered. In contrast, in a case where the humidity in the atmosphereis lower than the specific reference value, the controller 130 canincrease the humidity in the atmosphere by reducing the opening degreeof the regulating valve 93.

When the substrate processing unit 1 processes the substrate W, forexample, nitrogen gas or the like may be injected as a purge gas. Inthis case, in a case where the on-off valve mechanism 90 brings thereturn pipe 60A into the open state and brings the pipe 153 for exhaustequipment into the closed state and thus the atmosphere discharged tothe joint pipe 60 circulates through the circulation system 6B, theconcentration of the purge gas may increase and the oxygen concentrationmay decrease in the chamber 121 as time passes, and thus the inside ofthe chamber 121 may become a dangerous environment for an operator.Therefore, the controller 130 of the substrate processing device 102measures the concentration of a specific gas (for example, oxygen ornitrogen gas) in the atmosphere measured by the concentration meter 79.For example, in a case where the oxygen concentration measured by theconcentration meter 79 is lower than a specific reference value, thecontroller 130 increases the opening degree of the regulating valve 93to introduce more fresh air or the like containing much oxygen from theintroduction pipe 69 to the joint pipe 60. Thus, the oxygenconcentration in the atmosphere circulating through the circulationsystem 6B can be increased to the specific reference value or higher.

The substrate processing device 102 may not control the humidity or theoxygen concentration in the atmosphere of the chamber 121. In this case,the substrate processing device 102 may not include the hygrometer 78 orthe concentration meter 79.

<8. Measures to be Taken When Processing Liquid Containing SpecificChemical Substance is Used>

In a case where a chemical solution having strong corrosive action isused as the processing liquid L1, the atmosphere in the chamber 121containing mists of the chemical solution flows into the joint pipe 60,and the path of the atmosphere in the joint pipe 60 may corrode. If thejoint pipe 60 corrodes, rust or the like may circulate through thecirculation system 6B and flow into the chamber 121.

If the atmosphere in the chamber where the chemical-solution processingis performed on the substrate is discharged from the chamber by thecirculation system and is introduced into the chamber again, thesubstrate may be contaminated by the atmosphere including the mists orthe like originating from the chemical solution. For this reason, in aconventional substrate processing device that houses a substrate in achamber and performs chemical-solution processing, a configuration inwhich the atmosphere in the chamber is circulated using the circulationsystem is not adopted.

However, according to the substrate processing device 102, also in acase where the atmosphere of the chamber 121 is circulated by thecirculation system 6B, the chemical filter 73 is provided in each pipe61 to remove a chemical substance causing corrosion. Therefore,corrosion of the joint pipe 60 can be suppressed and contamination ofthe substrate W by the chemical substance in the atmosphere introducedagain into the chamber 121 can be suppressed.

It is preferable that the chemical substance is removed as soon aspossible after the atmosphere has flowed into the joint pipe 60 from thechamber 121. Therefore, it is preferable that each chemical filter 73 isprovided as close as possible to the lower opening 42 in each pipe 61.In a case where the substrate processing mechanism Al does not use achemical solution having strong corrosiveness as the processing liquidL1 but uses only a liquid having low corrosiveness such as pure water orfunctional water, the substrate processing device 102 may not includethe chemical filter 73.

Incidentally, in the substrate processing device 102, a case is assumedwhere the processing liquid L1 is a chemical solution, the concentrationof the chemical substance remaining without being removed in theatmosphere that has passed through the chemical filter 73 exceeds theconcentration allowed from the viewpoint of the quality of substrateprocessing.

Therefore, in the substrate processing device 102, with respect to eachprocessing liquid assumed to be used as the processing liquid L1, it ischecked in advance whether or not the specific chemical substance can beremoved from the atmosphere containing mists or the like originatingfrom the processing liquid by the chemical filter 73 to a levelsatisfying a specific quality standard.

According to the check result, it is determined that a processing liquidfrom which the chemical substance is removed to a level satisfying thequality standard can be circulated by the circulation system 6B, and itis determined that a processing liquid from which the chemical substanceis not removed to the level satisfying the quality standard will not becirculated by the circulation system 6B.

Specifically, for example, it is determined that functional water suchas CO2 water or pure water is suitable for circulation by thecirculation system 6B, and it is determined that a chemical solutionsuch as SC1 or SC2 is not suitable for circulation by the circulationsystem 6B.

According to the determination result, the substrate processing device102 stores in the storage 12 in advance as the control information K2the correspondence relationship between each processing liquid L1 andpropriety of circulation of the atmosphere in the chamber 121 by thecirculation system 6B.

The controller 130 of the substrate processing device 102 determineswhether or not the processing liquid L1 to be used is suitable forcirculation of the atmosphere in the chamber 121 by the circulationsystem 6B, according to the recipe K1 and the control information K2. Ina case where the processing liquid L1 is not suitable for thecirculation, the controller 130 controls the on-off valve mechanism 90such that the return pipe 60A is brought into the closed state and thepipe 153 for exhaust equipment is brought into the open state todischarge the atmosphere which has been discharged to the joint pipe 60to the exhaust equipment 95 without circulating the atmosphere by thecirculation system 6B.

In a case where the processing liquid L1 is suitable for thecirculation, the controller 130 controls the on-off valve mechanism 90such that the return pipe 60A is brought into the open state and thepipe 153 for exhaust equipment is brought into the closed state tocirculate the atmosphere discharged to the joint pipe 60 by thecirculation system 6B.

Therefore, according to the substrate processing device 102, in the caseof using the processing liquid L1 containing a chemical substance whichis not sufficiently removed by the chemical filter 73 as a component,the atmosphere in the chamber 121 is not circulated by the circulationsystem 6B. As a result, the processing quality of the substrate W isimproved.

In the substrate processing device 102 of FIG. 4, since the circulationsystem 6B is provided for the substrate processing device group 10having a plurality of (four) substrate processing units 1, adetermination on propriety of circulation of the atmosphere by thecirculation system 6B is made for the substrate processing device group10. The determination is preferably made for each process performed bythe substrate processing device 102.

<9. Another Embodiment of Substrate Processing Unit 1>

The substrate processing unit 1 (substrate processing mechanism A1) mayalso be a processing unit (so-called a spin scrubber) which performsscrub cleaning processing (physical cleaning processing of cleaning afront surface of a substrate by physical cleaning action) of bringing abrush, a sponge or the like into contact with the front surface of therotating substrate W to brush the front surface while supplying acleaning liquid such as pure water, thereby mechanically (physically)removing contaminants such as particles adhering to the front surface ofthe substrate W.

In a case where the substrate processing unit 1 is a spin scrubber, thesubstrate processing unit 1 uses, for example, pure water, functionalwater (CO₂ water or the like), or the like as a processing liquid L1 toperform the scrub cleaning processing and rinsing processing of thesubstrate W. The substrate processing unit 1 removes particles or thelike on the substrate W by performing the scrub cleaning processing, andthen washes away the particles or the like remaining on the substrate Wby performing the rinsing processing.

In a case where the substrate processing unit 1 performs the scrubcleaning processing or the rinsing processing using pure water orfunctional water as the processing liquid L1, since the substrateprocessing unit 1 does not use a chemical solution such as SC1, mistsoriginating from the chemical solution are not generated by thesubstrate processing performed by the substrate processing unit 1.Therefore, even in a case where the substrate processing unit 1 uses acirculation system 6B to circulate an atmosphere in a chamber 121 and tointroduce again the atmosphere into the chamber 121, the likelihood thatthe substrate W will be contaminated by the atmosphere can be reduced.

Although the present invention has been illustrated and described indetail, the above description is illustrative and not restrictive in allaspects. Therefore, within the scope of the present invention, theembodiments can be appropriately modified and omitted.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE SIGNS

100, 102: substrate processing device

1: substrate processing unit

121: chamber

A1: substrate processing mechanism

41: upper opening

42: lower opening

60: joint pipe

69: introduction pipe

6A, 6B: circulation system

73: chemical filter

78: hygrometer

79: concentration meter

82: air flow generator

93, 96: regulating valve

130: controller

154: exhaust pipe

11: CPU

21: spin chuck (holding member)

51: nozzle

D1: downflow

L1: processing liquid (processing fluid)

a1: rotary axis

c1: center

1. A substrate processing method by a substrate processing devicecomprising: a plurality of chambers; a plurality of substrate processingmechanisms that has a holding member capable of holding a substrate in asubstantially horizontal state, is housed in each of said plurality ofchambers, and discharges processing fluid onto the substrate held bysaid holding member to process said substrate; a joint pipe that has aplurality of lower openings, each provided below said holding member ofeach of said plurality of substrate processing mechanisms and eachfacing an inside of said plurality of chambers, and a plurality of upperopenings, each provided above said holding member of each of saidplurality of substrate processing mechanisms and each facing the insideof said plurality of chambers, and is disposed such that at least partof the joint pipe from said plurality of lower openings to saidplurality of upper openings passes through an outside of said pluralityof chambers; and an air flow generator that is provided in said jointpipe, a pipe for exhaust equipment that branches off from said jointpipe to cause said joint pipe to communication with external exhaustequipment, and guides said atmosphere discharged to said joint pipe tosaid exhaust equipment, a return pipe defined by a section of said jointpipe ranging from a downstream side of a flow of said atmospherecirculated by said air flow generator with respect to said pipe forexhaust equipment to said plurality of upper openings, and an on-offvalve mechanisms that is capable of bringing one of said return pipe andsaid pipe for exhaust equipment into an open state and bringing theother into a closed state, the method comprising the steps of: (a)circulating said atmosphere containing a specific gas in said pluralityof chambers by discharging said atmosphere in said plurality of chambersfrom said plurality of lower openings to said joint pipe to allow saidatmosphere to pass through said joint pipe by said air flow generator,thereby introducing said atmosphere into said plurality of chambers viasaid plurality of upper openings so that a downflow of said atmosphereoccurs in said plurality of chambers, and (b) performing opening andclosing control for bringing said return pipe into an open state andbringing said pipe for exhaust equipment into a closed state when arequired exhaust amount of said substrate processing device exceeds anexhaust amount allocated to said substrate processing device out of anexhaust amount of said exhaust equipment and bringing said return pipeinto the closed state and bringing said pipe for exhaust equipment intothe open state when said required exhaust amount does not exceed saidexhaust amount allocated.
 2. The substrate processing method accordingto claim 1, wherein said step (b) is performed according to controlinformation acquired in advance, and said control information includesinformation in which a process of substrate processing that saidsubstrate processing device is capable of executing and an opening andclosing state of said on-off valve mechanism are correlated with eachother so that said opening and closing control can be executed.
 3. Thesubstrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein said step (b)is performed according to control information acquired in advance, andsaid control information includes an index value corresponding to theexhaust amount allocated to said substrate processing device by saidexternal exhaust equipment and an index value corresponding to therequired exhaust amount of said substrate processing device.
 4. Thesubstrate processing method according to claim 1, further comprising thesteps of: (c) determining whether said step (a) is possible or not basedon a result preliminarily checked whether a processing liquid satisfiesa predetermined quality standard.
 5. The substrate processing methodaccording to claim 2, further comprising the steps of: (c) determiningwhether said step (a) is possible or not based on a result preliminarilychecked whether a processing liquid satisfies a predetermined qualitystandard.
 6. The substrate processing method according to claim 3,further comprising the steps of: (c) determining whether said step (a)is possible or not based on a result preliminarily checked whether aprocessing liquid satisfies a predetermined quality standard.